New backup plan?

Ohio State fans who came into yesterday hoping star quarterback Terrelle Pryor wouldn't get hurt suddenly were holding their breath that Kenny Guiton was OK.

Ohio State fans who came into yesterday hoping star quarterback Terrelle Pryor wouldn't get hurt suddenly were holding their breath that Kenny Guiton was OK.

That says a lot about the day Guiton had, as the supposed No. 3 quarterback led Gray to a come-from-behind 17-14 win in front of a crowd of 65,223 in Ohio Stadium. He capped a long drive with the winning touchdown pass to Taurian Washington in the final minute.

Who would have thought that Guiton's health would be such a concern, as he lay in the end zone after taking a helmet-to-knee hit in the closing seconds?

Afterward, Guiton said he was fine, just sore.

And after completing 11 of 21 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers, he acknowledged that his performance may have tightened the competition with Joe Bauserman to be Pryor's backup this season.

"I'm hoping so," Guiton said. "I don't think it's over. I don't think that put a stamp on anything. I know I have to keep working, and I'm going to leave it in the coaches' hands."

Bauserman was 6 of 15 for 75 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He did lead Scarlet to a go-ahead TD drive in the fourth quarter, though.

"I thought they both got some good, very valuable repetitions under the gun," coach Jim Tressel said. "I think you could go back and look at each of their performances and say they did some good things and stepped in there and were poised in the midst of it, and I'm sure we'll be able to find a couple other things that they've got to do better."

The game featured Pryor dazzling fans early, and then Guiton waking them up late.

In between, it was a snooze-fest that featured 13 punts.

Pryor played three series and was 8 of 12 for 108 yards and a TD. He was under orders not to scramble, focusing instead on reading defenses and making good decisions.

He did that on a four-play, 78-yard Scarlet drive that tied the score after Guiton had thrown the first of his two TDs to Washington to give Gray a 7-0 lead. Operating out of the shotgun and in a spread formation, Pryor was given freedom to call plays at the line, and he capitalized. He was 4 of 4, finding Jake Stoneburner for 23 yards, then Dane Sanzenbacher for 33, 10 and a 12-yard touchdown.

"We just got lined up in a formation and had him read the defense and give us something to run," Sanzenbacher said. "That was his call on that (touchdown)."

Six tailbacks split the rushing attempts and none gained more than 32 yards. Promising redshirt freshman Jaamal Berry sat out because of an ankle injury.

With Scarlet down 10-7 in the fourth, Bauserman led a 70-yard drive to take the lead. Bo Delande ran in from 4 yards out with 4:48 remaining.

Scarlet then appeared to have the game in hand when Spencer Smith recovered Devin Barclay's onside kick. But Bauserman threw an interception to Nate Oliver, and Gray had a chance at its 11-yard line with 3:06 left.

Guiton connected with Zach Boren for a 15-yard pass to convert a fourth-and-2, then found Joe Cech for 16 on a third-and-16. Four plays later, he fired it long down the left side, and Washington made a nice over-the-shoulder grab in stride for a 45-yard TD with 55 seconds left.

"Me and DeVier (Posey), we told (Guiton) before the game that we were going to make him look good," said Washington, who had three catches for 83 yards. "Today, I thought we did a good job of making him look good, and he did a good job of making himself look good."

kgordon@dispatch.com

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